How to make a free word search PDF in large print

A word search PDF is handy when you want to email a puzzle, print it later on a different printer, or keep a stack of them ready for next week. You don't need special software for it. Any browser can turn a printable page into a PDF, and our maker is built so that only the puzzle ends up in the file.

The quick answer

Open the free word search maker, pick a theme or type your own words, and press Make puzzle. Tick Show answer key if you want one. Then press Print puzzle, and when the print window opens, choose Save as PDF (Firefox calls it Save to PDF) instead of a printer. Your PDF has the puzzle on page 1 and, if you ticked it, the answer key on page 2.

We don't keep a library of ready-made files. Making your own takes a few clicks, and you get to pick the theme and how hard it is.

Step 1: Set up the puzzle before you save

Everything you choose in the maker carries into the PDF, so it is worth a quick look at the settings first.

• Easy is a 10 by 10 grid with words running across and down. Medium is 13 by 13 and adds diagonals. Hard is 15 by 15, and words can run in any direction, backwards too.
• Letters come in Standard, Large or Extra large. Under the preview, the maker shows roughly how tall the letters will print, in points.
• Paper can be US Letter or A4. The maker sets the PDF page to match, so pick the paper you will print on in the end.
• You can type your own title, and tick Add name and date line if the sheets are for a class or a group.
• The answer key is off until you tick Show answer key. When it is on, it prints on its own page with the hidden words shaded.

Every press of Make puzzle builds a fresh layout. That is one of the best reasons to save a PDF: the file keeps that exact puzzle together with its own answer key, so you can print the same sheet again next month.

Step 2: Save it as a PDF on a computer

Press Print puzzle under the preview. It opens your browser’s normal print window. Then:

On Windows, Microsoft Print to PDF also shows up in the printer list and does the same job. Give the file a name you will recognize later, like “Birds word search hard”, and choose a folder.

Step 3: Check these print settings

A few settings in the print window can shrink the letters or add clutter. In Chrome and Edge, open More settings to see them.

• Leave Scale at Default or 100. Fit to page can shrink the grid a little, and then the letter size shown under the preview no longer holds.
• Untick Headers and footers if you don’t want the date and web address printed along the edges.
• The maker asks the browser to print the answer key shading anyway. If the shading is missing from your PDF, tick Background graphics and save again.

The menus, buttons and ads on our page are left out of the printout, so the PDF holds only the puzzle sheet in black on white.

Saving a word search PDF on a phone or tablet

The same Print puzzle button works on phones. What happens next depends on the phone.

Android (Chrome). The print screen opens. Tap the printer name at the top and choose Save as PDF. You can tap the small arrow below it to check that the paper size matches the maker. Then tap the round PDF button, pick a folder such as Downloads, and tap Save.

iPhone or iPad. The print options open with a small preview of the page. Spread two fingers on that preview to open it full size, then tap the Share button and choose Save to Files. Menu names can shift a little between iOS versions.

Ways to use a saved PDF

If you only want the puzzle on paper and the key for yourself, print page 1 for the solvers and keep page 2 back. Most print windows have a Pages box where you can type 1.

For a weekly activity, it helps to make a few at once. Choose a theme, save the PDF, switch to another theme and save again. A folder named by theme or by month makes it easy to find the right sheet later.

A PDF is also the simplest way to send a puzzle to someone who prints at home. Attach it to an email and it opens on most phones and computers without an app.

If the person would rather solve on a screen than on paper, a PDF is a clumsy way to do it. Our online word search lets you drag across a word, or tap its first and last letter, and it crosses the word off the list.

Keeping the letters large

The PDF prints exactly what the preview shows, so the letter size estimate under the preview is the one to watch. Fewer words leave more room for the grid, and a smaller grid makes each letter bigger. Our guide to a hard printable word search has a table of printed letter sizes by grid, and the easy printable word search guide covers the gentlest settings. A4 is a little taller than Letter, so the same puzzle usually gets slightly bigger letters on A4.

Questions